At Last
by Mist and Mischief
Summary: Sirius finally leaves Grimmauld Place to begin a life on his own. He meets a girl he's never noticed before in Diagon Alley. Filled with jealous girls, Remus the matchmaker, and lots of Marauder fun. Please read! Definitely not a Mary Sue! I swear!
1. Broken Bonds

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or items that you recognize from J.K. Rowling's books. However, I wish I owned Sirius.

Rating: PG-13 for now due to language. May go up later.

Summary: Sirius finally leaves Grimmauld Place and begins his life on his own. He meets a mysterious girl in Diagon Alley. Sirius+OC+6th year of Hogwarts=Romance. Y'all do the math. ^_^

A/N: Whee! I've returned to the fandom of Harry Potter! And I must say it's great to be back! I've missed it so much! Hehe. But you know how it is, Jack Sparrow was calling to me, so I had to write a PotC story. Since it's almost finished, now I'm writing this. I apologize for the length of this chapter. But it's the introduction, so I decided to make it shorter than my chapters usually are.

**Reviews would be wonderful, but no flames please!!**

------

All of the anger, frustration, and humiliation that had been building over the span of sixteen years finally broke in a flood of long awaited rash action. Sirius Black was leaving this place he had called his home, and he was never coming back.

"Fine then! Go on! We don't need you here! All you are is a filthy blood traitor!" His mother screamed hysterically. "But you'll be sorry once Tom Riddle rises to power. You'll be sorry once you're dead. He doesn't take too kindly to traitors of the blood." Her lips curved into a malicious sneer.

Sirius gritted his teeth together, trying not to laugh at the ridiculous look on her face. At the same time, he was greatful that his father wasn't around. If he was, then Sirius would be dead now, thanks to the unfortunate creation of the _Aveda Kedavra_ curse by the same Tom Riddle his mother had mentioned.

"I'm looking forward to it," Sirius responded dryly, turning the door handle and opening the immaculately painted door. He stepped outside, and looked over his shoulder at his mother, who was still standing in the foyer. "I'm sure Regulus will be thrilled to carry on the family name. He's always enjoyed killing things." He slammed the door on her aghast face, and laughed aloud. "At least that's taken care of," he chuckled, and strolled leisurely down the street.

The nonchalant attitude was a cover for his amazement that he had actually done what he'd been dreaming of doing for the past five years. He, Sirius Black, was finally free of the bonds his upbringing had created- not that he had been restricted by them anyway. He always acted on impulse without regard for the consequences, and this was one of those times. He wasn't too worried though. He had three great friends who he knew would be there for him no matter the circumstance.

Deciding there was no great hurry to find somewhere to stay, he journeyed to Diagon Alley in hope of finding something to eat and withdraw some money from his private bank account. After that, he didn't know. Maybe he'd call on his best friend James Potter. Grinning deviously, he pulled his wand from his pocket and tapped the brick on the wall to Diagon Alley. He waited patiently for the archway to form, and stepped through into the wizarding world as a free man.

------ 


	2. Frozen Assets

Disclaimer: SIRIUS IS ALIVE! MWAHAHAHA! *grins maniacly* Ok. Maybe not...but if I owned Harry Potter he would be!!

Rating: PG-13

Summary: In this chapter we learn more about the OC, who will not be a Mary Sue! After this, all chapters become much, much longer. In truth, I despise short chapters, but these are introductions to the characters, and although they might be boring y'all must put up with them. Whoa....that was a run-on sentence. ^_^

A/N: Many thanks to those who read and/or reviewed. Special thanks to Jessi Lupin and Plateado(I agree, the last paragraph is especially rushed).

------

Addison Freeborn (A/N: pronounced Free-burn. ^_^) didn't know which was worse- being invisible in her own home, or being invisible at school. If she was forced to chose, she would pick the former. One knows there is something very wrong if your own family doesn't notice you. At least at Hogwarts she had a few friends and had an activity to pass her free time. Quidditch was definitely one of the best things to happen to Addison.

She hadn't ever been very popular in primary school because of her bookish tendencies. Even at the tender age of four she had her nose stuck in a book. She was never any good at Muggle sports either. She couldn't kick a ball to save her soul, so football was out of the question, and at the time that was the favorite sport among kids her age.

One positive side was that her parents were always very supportive of her. Even if they acted a bit discouraged at her lack of friends and her inability to kick a ball, they never shunned her or ignored her, and for this Addison was grateful. And so the years of primary school hell slipped by, and before she knew it she was almost in the sixth grade. It was then that she received her letter.

The day she was accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a day she would never forget. It had started out innocently enough, she woke, ate breakfast, and was reading the newspaper when she heard a tapping at the window.

"Addison, darling, would you see what that is?" her mother asked distractedly, busy cleaning the dishes.

"Sure Mum," Addison grumbled, a tad agitated at being interrupted in the middle of her reading. She laid her paper down, and cast a quick glance at the window, at what appeared to be the source of the light tapping. Seeing nothing there, she returned back to her newspaper. "It's nothing," she said absently.

TAP, TAP, TAP! The rapping continued, but this time in a more demanding manner. Sighing in exasperation, Addison stood quickly and stalked over to the window. Pulling it open, she looked out and around. Seeing nobody, she looked down in case the offender might be hiding in the flower bed. Again there was no one. Only one more place to look, she thought. Raising her eyes, the sight that greeted her almost made her pass out from shock. Hovering in the air right above her head was a screech owl, a piece of parchment tied to his leg.

Oh my God, she thought frantically. "Nice birdie," she said in what she thought to be a soothing way, and slowly pulled her head back into the room. The owl flew right in after her, and landed on the table, giving her an offended look. Addison bit back a yelp of fright.

"Mum, there's an owl in the kitchen," she announced shakily, never taking her eyes off the large bird. "Mum?" She looked over her shoulder and found to her dismay that her mother had exited the kitchen. "Great. Bloody brilliant," Addison mumbled grumpily. "I can't just leave you here."

The owl simply glared at her, as owls tend to do, and stuck out his leg containing the piece of parchment.

"Will you leave if I untie this?" Addison asked hopefully, feeling slightly embarrassed at talking to a bird. To her surprise, the owl inclined its head in what appeared to be its version of nodding. In amazement, Addison removed the parchment slowly, and the screech owl spread its wings and exited out the still open window, which Addison shut so that no more errant owls would drop by as well.

She then turned her attention to the thick piece of paper addressed to her. Opening it, she scanned the page and what she read caused her to snort in amusement. "Me? A witch? Ha!" she laughed, assuming it was some kind of prank. She tossed the parchment in the waste basket and continued about her business.

To her consternation however, more and more owls appeared, each bearing letters from the same person, and each letter said the same thing as before. Her parents couldn't help but notice, and were not amused. "Those hooligans!" They would complain while tossing the letters into the fire.

But the letters continued to arrive, and the more Addison received, the more she began to doubt the fact that they were just some prank played on her by the kids from school. Why would someone go through all of this trouble to play a trick like that on her? And why would they use owls? As far as Addison could tell, she knew of no one with that many owls. She read the parchments carefully numerous times, and they fascinated her. What if these are real? she thought, and decided to consult her parents.

The Freeborns were not as open to this idea as Addison. They firmly believed that all of this rubbish and nonsense about witchcraft and such was just a malicious joke. Addison argued with them, and asked if they could at least try to find this Diagon Alley that Hogwarts recommended for school supplies. Grudgingly, they agreed. "Only to prove that this is a load of codswallop," her dad had told her.

Of course, they found that Diagon Alley was, in fact, a real place, and they were extremely overwhelmed by it.

"We are leaving," Mrs. Freeborn ordered stiffly, glaring suspiciously at the absurdity of her surroundings.

Addison simply grinned in pleasant surprise. "No! Let's stay!" She begged, and looked pleadingly at her parents. They firmly shook their heads. "But Mum, Dad, these are people like me! Maybe I'll fit in here!" She argued. Fifteen minutes and one long-winded shouting match later, Addison was happily dragging her family down the street.

Upon her return home before the start of term, she noticed a change in her parents' demeanors. They transformed from warm and supportive to cold and distant. It was then that Addison realized how shallow they truly were. They were the stereotypical "normal" Muggles, who thought Witchcraft and Wizardry preposterous, and refuse to have anything to do with it.

"I want you to know that we do not condone this," they told her icily on the day that she left from Platform 9 and 3/4.

And now, more than ever, her parents treated her in the exact same fashion. She had been practically ignored every summer, and though she'd gotten used to it, she was still bothered by the whole isolation and silent treatment but decided that the choice she'd made near five years ago was for the better. At least now she had best friends whom she trusted with her life, and over the summer she kept up contact by owl post.

Today was only slightly different than any other day in that she had gotten into an argument over school supplies with her family.

"We are not paying for your silly school supplies," her mother snapped, looking to Addison's father for support.

"We are a good Christian family and will no longer tolerate this nonsense. If you want to continue at this voodoo school, you must finance your own supplies," he growled in agreement.

Addison practically gaped at them. "Fine then," she quipped after she'd recovered from her initial shock. "I'll pay for everything myself. And I just want you to know that it's not voodoo, it's witchcraft, and it has nothing what-so-ever to do with religion." She stormed up the stairs and grabbed her purse, before stomping out the front door towards the Underground. A quick train ride would get her to Diagon Alley quickly, and Addison wanted to be as far away from her parents as possible. Thank God for my emergency bank account, she thought as she paid her ticket toll and boarded the train car.

------

A/N: Well, that turned out longer than I expected. *shrugs* I guess that shows that you never know when it comes to writing. I ask once again that y'all **review**. Not only do they make my day happier, but they help me write faster and keep the story going. Thanks very much!

Until next time,

~TheSiriusSparrow~ 


	3. A Run In

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This includes all of the characters that you may recognize. They all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling!

Rating: PG-13

Summary: They meet!

A/N: And now we start another chapter! I'm sorry for the wait. *apologetic look* I've been busy with my other fics. Special thanks to katesparrow and Plateado for reviewing. Y'all rock my socks!

------

Diagon Alley was the same that it had always been. Filled with interesting and unique shops: some dark, some odd, some dull, and some educational. And then there was the joke shops, which was where Sirius was headed at the moment.

On his way he passed people that he knew, and some he didn't. He smiled to himself whenever he passed the Muggle-born first years, wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they stood gawking at the wide assortment of shops. Sirius had never known that feeling of amazement while shopping in Diagon Alley. He'd been going there for as long as he could remember, and then some.

He continued down the lane, passing a gaggle of giggling fourth year girls. He saw them sending shy looks in his direction, and flashed them a grin and a wink. Blushing, they quickly became interested in their nails. Sirius chuckled to himself, finding the whole situation amusing. He had never met a girl that hadn't reacted in that way to him, with the exception of Lily Evans, but she was an unusual case.

Lost in thought, Sirius didn't realize where he was going until it was too late. He ran smack into someone, causing him to land on top of said innocent pedestrian.

"Terribly sorry," he apologized quickly, and looked down at who he was currently on top of. What he saw caused him to do a double-take. She wasn't extraordinarily beautiful, or even pretty for that matter. Her hair was a simple dark brown, and she had a light tan, but it was her eyes that captivated him. They were a freezing, gray color, close to the color of snow clouds on a frosty day. He was entranced.

"Are you going to get off of me, or are you comfortable?" She asked irritably, her gray eyes flashing in vexation. She struggled to extricate herself out from underneath him.

Sirius, feeling like an idiot, quickly pushed himself of her. "I really am sorry," he apologized again. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Now that the mysterious girl was standing again, she looked slightly more relaxed. "That's okay. I wasn't watching where I was going either, obviously." They stood in silence for an awkward moment. "I have to be going," she stated quickly, looking at the ground.

Sirius, still dumbfounded by her eyes, was jolted back to reality when he could no longer see her eyes. Probably creeping her out, he thought to himself. "Right," he answered. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine really. Don't worry anymore." She smiled briefly.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you around then." Sirius automatically ran a hand through his dark hair and made a mental note to kick that habit because it probably made him look insecure.

"Yeah, I guess so." She went to go around him, but he caught her arm, forcing her to stop. She blinked in confusion. "Yes?"

"What school do you go to?" Sirius asked, hoping maybe he'd see those stormy eyes again.

"Hogwarts," she stated casually, and tried to walk away again.

"What's your name?" Sirius called to her retreating back.

"Addison Freeborn!" She yelled over her shoulder, and mustered up what she hoped to be a mischievous grin.

"Addison Freeborn..." Sirius murmured, testing the name. He would definitely need to remember that one. Why didn't I see her before, he wondered to himself. Shrugging, he pushed this enigma to the back of his mind, and continued on his way to the joke shop, where he sincerely hoped his best friend James Potter would be found. Maybe he would know who this Addison Freeborn is.

------

Addison felt numb as she walked away from Sirius Black, the most popular, most sexy, charming, and witty guy in school. It was no wonder she was in a state of shock. Sirius Black tended to do that to people.

She had always puzzled over him before now, but this only added fuel to the fire. It remained a mystery to her how he could be one of the top students in their year but never open a text book to study. Addison herself, as second in their year only to Lily Evans, had to study a little bit, but then again studying was something that Addison had always enjoyed. She was sure that Sirius considered it to be a sadistic form of torture, and she was almost positive that he spent more time in detention than anywhere else.

Then again, the Marauders, as they called themselves, in general danced to their own beat, Sirius and James Potter being the leaders. Of the other two, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, Addison didn't know much. From her view point, Remus seemed to be the only relatively normal one. He studied just as much as the average person, and managed not to find trouble around every corner. Peter, on the other hand, struck her as not being very bright, but she didn't know for sure. She had never met him.

In short, he was the complete opposite of her. But his sudden interest in her piqued her curiosity. Addison had always been the girl that nobody noticed, and part of her thought that she should be offended that Sirius hadn't noticed her before. The other half was quite flattered that he had even asked what her name was, and had no objections whatsoever.

She chalked up this whole chance meeting as being pure and simple luck, and luck wasn't one of Addison's more intimate friends. If this was what luck brought; however, she was quite open to getting to know it better. Maybe I'll see him again sometime, she thought hopefully. Yeah, in my dreams, she quickly corrected herself bitterly.

With this bitter thought, she took a nose dive from her temporary Cloud Nine state. Needing something to cheer herself up, she wandered over to Florean Fortesque's Icecream Parlor. Something sweet would do the trick, and return her to the dull, grim reality of her life, where run-ins with Sirius Black were a fleeting fantasy--a mere trick of the eye.

-----

A/N: I know I promised longer chapters, but this seemed an appropriate place to end. I'm sorry if you dislike the shorter chapters. I'll work towards writing longer ones.

I ask that you all please **review**!!! But no flames please. I think they are completely pointless, and why would you want to ruin someone's day and completely crush their sense of confidence? I know I wouldn't want to, but this is coming from someone who doesn't believe in flaming, and has never done so herself.

I'm now finished with my rant. Ta!

Until next time,

~TheSiriusSparrow~


	4. Padfoot, Prongs, and Moony

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, savvy? If that doesn't state it clearly, then you have major problems.  
  
Rating: PG-13   
  
Summary: Sirius meets up with James Potter and Remus Lupin, and together they discuss Sirius's enigma.   
  
A/N: And on we go to another chapter! I know I'm not updating very fast, but this is a leisurely story. Right now I'm on vacation in Florida, and was bored, so I decided to write this. Special thanks to BBOO for reviewing!   
  
------  
  
Sirius found two of his best friends, James Potter and Remus Lupin, terrorizing their arch-nemesis.   
  
"Come on, Snivelly. Where's your sense of adventure?" James taunted him, and ran his fingers through his untidy black hair, hazel eyes alight with amusement. He looked to Remus for support, but his friend simply gave him a blank look.   
  
Sirius laughed, and at the sound of his voice, James whirled around, all teasing of Severus Snape forgotten.   
  
"Padfoot!" He exclaimed happily, and bounded up to his friend, Remus closely behind him.   
  
"Hey James, Remus," Sirius greeted. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed greasy-haired Snape slink out of sight. "It appears you've lost your sport."   
  
James watched the Slytherin leave with slight dismay. "Well, there's more where that came from," he said.   
  
Remus rolled his eyes at his friend. "One-track mind," he commented lightly. James glared at him. "What? It's true."   
  
"Yes, unfortunately, we know this," Sirius chuckled along with his friend.   
  
"Oh, don't play innocent," Remus scolded playfully. "You're just as guilty as him."   
  
"If not worse," James added.   
  
"You wound me," Sirius said, an injured look on his face.   
  
The trio headed continued aimlessly down the path, Sirius and James winking and grinning at girls, and Remus wishing that he had more mature friends. The sun was hot, and the breeze warm, and gradually they were driven indoors in search of food.   
  
They sat down at one of the aged tables in the Leaky Cauldron pub. As they consulted their menus, their conversation turned towards the events of the summer.   
  
"What did the two of you do over the holiday? Did anyone hear from Peter?" Sirius asked. James and Remus both shook their heads in response to the second question. "Neither have I," Sirius said.   
  
"He's an odd one," Remus commented thoughtfully.   
  
"I'll say. We've known him for six whole years, and we have yet to see where he lives," James added.   
  
"You've never seen where I live," Sirius reminded.   
  
"But you're a special case," Remus said gently.   
  
"Yeah. You and your crazy parents," James laughed.   
  
Sirius toyed with his napkin for a moment, and then broke into a dog-like grin. "Which reminds me..." He trailed off for dramatic effect.  
  
"What??" Both James and Remus inquired at the same time.   
  
"I finally did it." There was a moment if stunned silence.   
  
"Really?" James asked incredulously.  
  
"Really," Sirius confirmed.   
  
James and Remus exchanged stunned looks. Sirius had been planning to leave his family for years-- ever since they had known him. After a while, the whole idea had become a favorite topic of conversation for the future. Never in their wildest dreams did they think that Sirius would actually leave once and for all. They should've known their friend better than that.   
  
"Wow." Remus began to fiddle with his napkin as well. "Where are you going to stay?" He asked finally.   
  
"You could stay with me," James volunteered. "Mum won't mind."   
  
"Actually, that was what I was planning," Sirius explained. "I didn't think she would care too much." Sirius genuinely liked Mrs. Potter. She was what he'd always wanted in a mother, and was normally Sirius's surrogate mother during the summer and over the school year. She always sent Sirius a birthday present and Christmas gifts, as well as inviting him to stay at their house over the summer.   
  
"That shouldn't be a problem. I mean, what else could she say? 'No, James, Sirius can't stay here, even though I've already asked him to stay this summer anyway'?" James was laughing now.   
  
"And if she does say no, you could always stay with my family," Remus offered. Sirius knew that he couldn't do this, however. The Lupins were an extremely kind wizarding family, but they were not a wealthy one. In fact, they were far from it, and Remus's threadbare robes were testimony to that.   
  
"Thanks Moony, but I'll stay with James. I was planning on doing that anyway." Sirius sighed, and leaned back in his seat. He was extremely relieved that he had gotten this situation taken care of.   
  
The conversation moved on to James and Remus's summers. James had gone on vacation to France, where he was disappointed to find that the girls there weren't as beautiful as they were rumored to be. He did see, however, what he believed to be a veela.   
  
Remus and his family had taken a trip to visit some friends of his parents in Scotland. He said that he learned some interesting trivia on the Loch ness Monster, which does, in fact, exist. It was only visible to the magical eye, but the occasional Muggle had seen signs of it.  
  
Their food arrived, and the tucked in heartily. For a few minutes, none of them spoke because they were too busy inhaling their food. Finally, Sirius slowed down enough to inquire about James's long-time but ever evasive love interest.   
  
"Heard from Evans?"   
  
An annoyed look crossed James face, and he scowled. "Yes, I did." He growled.   
  
Sirius smirked. "You don't look too happy, Prongs. What happened?"   
  
"I take time out of my busy schedule to seek her out, and where do I find her but in the arms of Snivellus Snape."   
  
"Snivellus?" Sirius asked in disbelief.   
  
"Yes, Snivellus."   
  
"Whoa. That's harsh," Sirius said sympathetically as his friend wallowed in self-pity.   
  
"I think he's exaggerating a little bit," Remus whispered to Sirius. "I think that they're more friends than anything else."   
  
"Ah, the truth is revealed," Sirius whispered back. James tended to exaggerate anything involving the fiery red head, Honestly, Sirius didn't know what exactly James saw in her, but he figured it was best to just go with his friend rather than say this out loud. Whatever floats his boat, Sirius thought in amusement.   
  
"I'm going to do something about it, of course," James announced in determination. "Anyone is better then Snivellus."   
  
"Amen to that," Sirius laughed.   
  
"So, did you meet any girls over the summer?" Remus asked his friend. Sirius then remembered Addison, and, more importantly, her steely grey eyes.   
  
"Not really. It's been a boring summer. Up until today that is. I went to Narcissa and Lucius's wedding, and that was horrible. Thankfully, Andromeda was there, and the two of us were ignored together," Sirius told them. Andromeda was Sirius's cousin, and the two of them were outcasts of the Black family. Sirius knew that she would be pleased with his abandonment of the name. "Do you know of anyone named Addison Freeborn?" Sirius asked in what he hoped was a casual manner.   
  
James screwed his face up in thought, and Remus got that far away look of someone who is trying to remember the name of an old acquaintance. "Not that I know of," Remus said finally. James was still thinking.   
  
"I might..." James trailed off as if deciding whether or not he was correct. "She's a chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team I think. She's actually quite good. We could use her on our team."   
  
"Why do you ask?" Remus raised a curious eyebrow.   
  
"I ran into her today, literally. She said that she went to Hogwarts, but I was wondering why I'd never seen her."   
  
"Now that you mention it, I think I've seen her in the library. She's in there a lot, studying for her classes," Remus commented.   
  
"You would know," James teased.  
  
"Shut up," Remus snapped. Both James and Sirius laughed. Remus scowled at them. "At least I spend time on something besides girls and pranks."   
  
"What else is there?" Sirius flippantly. James nodded in agreement.   
  
"You two are hopeless," Remus sighed, and handed the waiter their money. They stood, and strolled out of the restaurant, the summer heat crashing down on them in a heavy wave.  
  
"We might as well get our school supplies now," James said practically.  
  
"Okay, but I have to stop by Gringotts and get some money," Sirius replied.   
  
"Same here," Remus added.   
  
All thoughts of Addison Freeborn temporarily pushed out of his mind, Sirius and two of the other Marauders continued on carelessly to Gringotts, the wizarding bank.   
  
------  
  
A/N: How was it? Good, bad, re-write??? I personally think it's ok, but it all depends on what y'all think. Damn, it's so hard to leave my southern accent out of my writing. Alas, it must be done.  
  
I kindly ask that you take a few seconds to REVIEW. It would make me happy and I would write faster.   
  
Until next time,   
  
~TheSiriusSparrow~ 


	5. They Meet Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any idea relating to it. I wish I owned the Marauders, though, minus Peter.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: We meet Addison's friends. Everyone embarks on the Hogwarts Express.

A/N: Hiya! I'm finally writing on this again. The complete lack of reviews is making this story not very fun to write. But for the readers who do review, this chapter is dedicated to you. Thanks to Plateado, Queen of Drag, katesparrow, and Ryou Kaiba.

------

"Addi! Hi!" Addison turned her head to look for the owners of the voices, although she already knew who they were. Grinning, she looked back impatiently at her mother.

"Bye," her mother said gruffly, and stalked away, glad to be leaving this complete rubbish and nonsense. Addison frowned slightly at her back. Every year it was the same. She knew by know that she shouldn't let her mother's coarse demeanor bother her, but it did. She often hoped that everything could just return to normal, but she knew it was too late for that.

Putting on what she hoped to be a cheery smile, she rushed over to her friends, who were standing next to the barrier for Platform 9 3/4. "Hey. Just escaping my mother." Addison shook her head bitterly. "She never ceases to amaze me."

Virginia Walters gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about her. What does she know anyway?"

"Yeah. Just because she has a stick up her arse doesn't mean you should let her ruin your sixth year!" Dora Fairmont laughed.

Addison smiled grateful at her friends. Besides, sixth year was the best year, if one though about it. O.W.Ls were behind them, and N.E.W.T.s weren't until seventh year, which meant much less studying and more time for having fun. At least, this was how Addison's friends saw it, but Addison herself knew that she would immerse herself in her studies, and, once again, try to be invisible. It had worked thus far.

"Yes. You're right." Addison admitted. "But if we don't hurry, we'll miss the train." Together the threesome, with a running start, hurtled themselves into the seemingly solid wall, leaving several Muggles blinking stupidly in their wake. 

They hurriedly found an empty compartment, and settled themselves each in one of the comfortable seats. The Hogwarts Express emitted a shrill whistle, and for a fleeting moment Addison wondered if Sirius was on this train. There I go thinking about him again, she mentally scolded herself. Sighing, she rested her head against the window, and watched as the platform slowly slipped away, giving way to fields and countryside.

"Hello? Addison? You okay?" Virgina asked. Jolted from her reverie, Addison nodded.

"You were in your own world there for a minute," Dora joked.

"What are you talking about? She's always in her own world."

Addison tried to look offended, and attempted to scowl at her two best friends, but she was unsuccessful, and began to giggle. "Thanks guys. I feel loved."

"You're welcome!" Dora and Virginia chirped together.

The three continued to chatter on about their summers while Dora did last minute homework. Addison had to resist the urge not lecture her about waiting until the last minute to start, and instead let her friend borrow her essay on werewolves. They were interrupted by the old witch who pushed the food cart, and Addison bought enough sweets for all of them, her sweet tooth being the largest of the group.

While they sat in contented silence, munching their Chocolate Frogs, the compartment door flew open and in came a boy who Addison recognized as Peter Pettigrew. He was a pudgy boy, who looked like he had not quite reached his growth spurt, with blond hair and blue eyes. There was a moment of stunned silence in which Addison, Dora, and Virginia stared at him in shock. Finally, Dora spoke. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes. He's fine." Another boy bounded into their compartment, and Addison recognized the longish dark hair and blue eyes almost instantly. Sirius Black saw her and gave her a smile. All thoughts of Peter's current disheveled state forgotten, he gave the girls a wink, and then focused his full attention on Addison. "We meet again," he laughed, blue eyes glinting mischievously.

Addison smiled thinly. "Yeah. I told you I went to Hogwarts." Always a polite one, she introduced her friends, who were ogling at the two of them. "These are my friends, Virgina Walters and Dora Fairmont. They're in Ravenclaw with me." 

Sirius gave them a polite nod, and then pulled Peter to his feet. The blond boy blinked stupidly, and Sirius nudged him. "Where are your manners, Wormtail?" Sirius asked him.

Peter laughed nervously. "Oh. Sorry. I'm Peter Pettigrew, Sirius's friend." Addison bit back a laugh when Sirius rolled his eyes at the introduction. To her, it seemed like Peter was one of those people who couldn't think for himself and instead lived vicariously through the lives of others. Peter then shuffled back through the door like a whipped puppy, obviously embarrassed.

"He's a bit of an odd one isn't he?" Virginia asked. Sirius nodded solemnly, and the four of them burst out laughing.

"Well, ladies, I must be on my way. People to see, places to go, you know." Pausing for a minute he added, "I think I just rhymed." On his way out the door, he stopped and looked at Addison. "I'll be seeing you around then?" She nodded, and he left. 

As she was marveling at his constant energy and his remarkable way with words, her friends started to ask about a million questions all at once. "Ah! Stop! One at a time, please," Addison said, smiling blissfully, once again in her own little world.

Virginia and Dora looked at each other in surprise. "How do you know Sirius Black?" They asked together.

"Zere is much zat you don't know about me," she answered in a mocking, mysterious air. Virginia punched her arm, and glared at her. "Fine then. If you really _must_ know." She paused for dramatic effect.

"Damn it Addison. Out with it already!" Dora snapped.

"Well, actually, I ran into him at Diagon Alley."

"You ran into him?" Dora asked incredulously.

"Yes. I ran into him. Literally." When she thought about it, that might have been one of the only times Sirius had been caught off guard. Then again, so had she, and Addison strived to keep up her defenses, even among her friends. Every time she had seen Sirius Black when she was at Hogwarts, he had always been his smooth-talking self.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence. "I think he likes you," Virginia stated finally.

Addison cocked an eyebrow. "You do?"

Dora rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious?"

Addison didn't think it was. Sirius Black was one of the most popular guys at Hogwarts. He could have any girl he wanted. Why would he be interested in her? Besides, he had a bad reputation among girls as being a flirt and a player, and Addison didn't want that in a guy. "No. I think you're wrong. There is no way that Sirius Black is at all interested in me. I wouldn't go out with him anyway. Not my type."

"What is your type then?" Dora asked curiously, knowing that since her friend had never had a boyfriend, that she must have high standards.

Addison looked flustered for a minute. "Not him," she said finally and in a voice that clearly stated that this discussion was closed. Her appetite gone, she laid her head against the wall and tried to go to sleep. She pushed his face out of her mind, and was finally able to drift off, the blackness engulfing her.

------

A/N: 'Nother chappie done. Please review! I beg of you!

Until next time,

~TheSiriusSparrow~


	6. Greasy Slytherin Gits

Disclaimer: Here I am again, and everything remains the same as it was previously. I don't own anything. I'm broke.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Start of term feast and whatever else I want to put in. *smirks*

A/N: Yo! Sup homies? I'm in a great mood. I got 5 inches cut off my hair today, and I think it's gone to my brain. Anyway, thanks to my reviewers! Those being: Queen of Drag, fiery-eyed-elf, hi, katesparrow, and wanna-be an elf writer. Thanks for reviewing! Oh, and check out fiery-eyed-elf's story. It rocks!

------

The compartment containing the Marauders had been complete chaos since the train had departed. Of course, Remus had attempted to work on some of his studies, to which Sirius had snatched the book away, and James had lit it on fire. Remus, fuming, hexed them, and so the typical Hogwarts festivities began... Marauder style.

The only interruption had been one of Remus's new pranking spells going horribly wrong, sending Peter, the guinea pig, smashing through the door and flying into the next train car. Sirius had promptly trotted in to retrieve him, said his greetings to his newest enigma (Addison), and had returned looking perplexed.

"Something wrong, Padfoot?" James asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Sirius blinked, and then grinned doggishly at his best friend. "Nothing at all, Prongs. Just zoned out for a minute there." James accepted this answer, knowing full-well that Sirius was prone to losing focus for several minutes at a time. He had his suspicions that his friend was slightly ADD.

Peter, however, regarded his friend warily. He didn't know who this Addison was that Sirius had just been talking to, and he wondered how Sirius knew her. He had the nagging feeling that he was keeping a secret from the rest of them, but shrugged it off when Padfoot's playful exuberance returned.

"You do realize, my dear chaps, that we have no Start- Of- Term Prank planned this year," Sirius pointed out in what he hoped to be an impression of an old gentlemen.

"Why, Mr. Black, I do believe you have made a valid point," James replied, joining in.

"For once," Remus muttered under his breath. Peter sniggered.

"Then we absolutely must set about planning. Are you with us Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew?" Sirius inquired, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Remus and Peter exchanged a look, and then Remus rolled his eyes. "We'll be ready shortly, Mr. Black," he consented, and the four pranksters began their plans.

* (A/N: Short time jump... damn, how I hate Peter. It's a pain including him.)

As was customary at the beginning of each new term at Hogwarts, the Great Hall was aroar with loud, happy voices. The floating candles were present as they always were, and the enchanted ceiling was an inky, midnight color filled with stars. Nostalgia settled on the hearts of most.

Addison sat with her friends at the end of the Ravenclaw table, lost in thought. She barely registered that there were new first years settling themselves down, and remained oblivious to all of the whistling and cheering coming from each of the House tables. Her friends were chattering animatedly across from her; they were clearly used to her bouts of silence.

"Hi. I'm Ian Ziller."

Addison snapped back to the present, and noticed the small first year sitting next to her. She smiled politely. "Addison Freeborn." She introduced herself. He gave her a nod, and began talking to the third year on his other side. Addison looked up to see her friends smirking at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"This is a record," Virginia teased. "Addi is actually talking to someone on the first night! A first year no less!" She shoved some potatoes in her mouth.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny," Addison scowled. "Did it ever occur to the two of you that I might have something important to think about?"

"You? Something important? Never!" Dora and Virginia burst into laughter.

"I swear..." Addison mumbled good naturedly under her breath. She grabbed a roll from the basket, and, in a momentary spell of recklessness, threw it at Dora. She sniggered at Dora's gaping expression.

"Oh. You did _not_ just do that!" Dora squealed, and made to throw something back, when she was slammed in the face by a handful of peas. Virginia and Addison exchanged high fives across the table.

Dora opened and shut her mouth a few times, while Addison stole some ice from Ian Ziller's glass.

Out of nowhere, a huge ruckus was heard from the Slytherin table. Addison looked over in surprise, and what she saw caused her to burst out laughing, along with the rest of the Great Hall. It appeared the Marauders were at it again. This time they had outdone themselves.

Currently, everyone at the table was sporting hair that was either a nasty shade of maroon or a violent hue of neon yellow, and the only thing they could say sounded suspiciously like "Grease the greasy Slytherin gits, Go Gryffindor!". The ones yelling this the loudest were Malfoy and Snape, the two biggest, in Addison's opinion, gits in the school. Malfoy glared coldly at the Gryffindor table, and Snape looked as if he was going to either curl up and die of embarrassment, or commit a cold blooded murder in the middle of the Great Hall.

The horrid singing voices reached a crescendo before Professor Dumbledore could end the prank. In the mean time, the four Marauders were singing right along with the outraged Slytherin's, looking pleasantly pleased with themselves. Addison saw red-haired Lily Evans trying her hardest not to laugh, but erupted in a peal of giggles despite herself.

Finally, Dumbledore got everything under control, and there was a strained silence as he peered mildly around the Hall. Suppressed titters could be heard every now and then, but other than that the students were doing a great job with containing themselves. After a time, Dumbledore spoke.

"I see that the first years have been officially welcome into the school. I'm sure they feel right at home now that Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew have regaled us with their superior abilites." At this the Slytherin table scowled at Dumbledore, but he remained oblivious. "Unfortunately, I feel it was at your expense. I'm sure Professor McGonagall would like a word with you after dinner." His blue eyes twinkled at the four mischief makers, and Sirius winked at him.

He continued with the usual start of term announcements, and then bade them all goodnight and sweet dreams. Addison, a prefect, began to usher the first years to the Ravenclaw dorms. The excitement from the dinner had expelled their initial nervousness, and now they were chattering amiably and making new friends. Addison distinctly remembered that her nervousness had lasted for at least half of her first year. She envied these students slightly for that.

After getting her charges settled, Addison sunk down in her four-poster bed. Her other dorm mates were already asleep; she could hear their steady breathing and snores. Smiling, she couldn't help but think it was great to be back for another year. As unpopular and unnoticed as she was, she still considered Hogwarts to be her second home.

After several more minutes of reflective thought (which she did a lot of), she came to the conclusion that she would make this year different. For five terms she had hidden in her shell behind her stacks of books, and now she decided she would push those books to the side. It was her sixth year, and she was going to take advantage of it. The wheels in her head turning, she began to form the foundations of a plan- one that involved her physical appearance. She sincerely hoped her friends would go for it.

Several minutes later, she drifted off to sleep.

*

Sirius was feeling slightly giddy and was not in the least bit tired. In fact, he felt as if he could stay up all night. His three friends were in about the same state of mind, even Remus.

"I think this calls for a celebration!" Sirius exclaimed, bouncing up and down on his bed.

James smirked. "This marks the fifth year of getting detention on the first night back. We have outdone ourselves mates."

"The look on their faces was priceless," Remus chuckled. "Too bad we only have one more year after this."

This statement put a slight damper on their good spirits, but like usual, Sirius managed to restore the air of festivity. "Moony, lighten up a bit. We have all of this year until then, and by the time we leave, McGonagall won't know which way's up."

"You say that every year, Padfoot. And every year we end up with a record amount of detentions that always surpasses our amount from the previous year." Remus couldn't help but smile at this.

"What we need now is firewhiskey," James announced, and Peter and Remus winced slightly. "Oh come on. What's it going to hurt?"

"Don't you think it would be obvious when we come to class tomorrow hung over?" Peter asked, and Remus nodded in agreement.

"Just because the two of you can't hold your liquor means that you can ruin it for the rest of us. Besides, we weren't planning on drinking that much anyway," Sirius protested.

"Famous last words," Moony muttered, and they all laughed.

James rifled through his trunk for a couple of minutes before finding a bottle of the fiery liquid. "Here it is," he said, and twisted off the cap. 

"I say we propose a toast," Sirius suggested suddenly in a moment of what he considered to be brilliance.

"Good idea. To what?" James asked. Remus frowned in disapproval.

They pondered over this for several moments. "I propose a toast to the best damn sixth year ever. May the school survive," Sirius said finally.

"Here here," Remus, Peter, and James murmured in agreement, and they each took a swig, Peter spluttering and coughing slightly. The four friends sat in companionable silence. "Where's John?" Peter asked suddenly, shattering the contemplative silence. He was speaking of their other room-mate who didn't much care for the randomness of the Marauders.

James rolled his eyes. "Obviously not here, nor do I honestly care."

Sirius stretched, and laid back on his bed. "Thanks for ruining the mood, Wormtail." Peter blushed slightly.

------

A/N: Did you like? I certainly hope so. I worked fairly hard on it. Once again I ask you to please review. I see readers on my author alert list, and it's slightly depressing to know that you read but don't review. I feel under-appreciated. *smirks* Naw. But drop a review, and you'll make my day. Plus you'll make me want to update faster, savvy?

Until next time,

~TheSiriusSparrow~


	7. New and Improved

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I own Addison and my horse. That's it.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Addison works her part of her plan, and a few jaws drop. *huge smirk*

A/N: The extreme lack of reviews is disheartening. *sigh* But I will survive! However, please review. If I don't get much more response, I'm gonna discontinue this fic. So review! Savvy? And, on to chapter seven!

------

Addison awoke several hours later. After a glance at her watch she saw it was four in the morning. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep, but all that resulted in was a bunch of tossing and turning. Sighing in resignation, she rose from her four-poster bed and padded into the bathroom.

Toilletries were scattered haphazardly along the counter, and she rummaged around for Dora and Virginia's makeup. Thankfully it was only their first night, and their makeup bags hadn't had time to bury themselves under other mounds of feminine items.

Addison splashed some cool water on her face, and then patted it dry with the towel. Studying her reflection, she decided that she definitely needed some work. Her eyebrows were in desperate need of tweezing, and her nails could use some repair. Of course, she had never worn makeup before, but she had seen it applied and new the basic gist. How hard could it be? Also, she needed to do something with her hair. She always wore it up, mainly because it was easier to maintain.

Grabbing shampoo, conditioner, and soap she began her work, starting with the shower.

*

Sirius felt his bed shift and someone energetically calling his name. He rolled over on his stomach and buried his head in his pillow in hopes that the annoying voice would go away. Much to his chagrin, the imposter began to beat him upside the head with a pillow. Rolling over moodily, Sirius glared up at Remus. "Go 'way!" He snapped, and tried to bury himself under his covers. Remus simply rolled his eyes and began his relentless pillow attack again in earnest. "Moony," Sirius groaned.

"Good morning Sunshine!" A growl was the only response he recieved. "Fine then. This calls for drastic measures," Remus said cheerily, and began a loud rendition of "You Are My Sunshine." Everyone promptly chucked their pillows at the werewolf, but they did indeed crawl out of bed.

"It's too bleeding early," James muttered sourly, and sauntered into the bathroom. Meanwhile, Sirius and Peter were searching the dorm for their clothes.

"Hey, Moony! Have you seen my socks?" Sirius asked, his voice muffled because his head was buried in his trunk.

"Did you check under the beds?" Remus suggested patiently.

"Oh yeah." Sirius looked under his bed and came up with two matching socks. This'll have to do, he thought carelessly.

Ten minutes later James re-entered the room, his damp hair plastered to his head. Remus, having already taken a shower, watched with great amusement Sirius and Peter bicker over who got the bathroom first. As usual, Sirius won, and Peter sat down on his bed in a sulk.

"Some things never get old," Remus laughed.

"Uh-huh," James acknowledged distractedly. "Hey, Remy, have you seen my socks anywhere?"

Remus rolled his eyes. It was great to be back.

*

By the time the rest of the Ravenclaw sixth years awoke, the transformation was complete. Addison was almost unrecognizable.

She had showered and then blow dried her hair, which made it straight. It was usually wavy, but most people didn't know this because she wore it up so much. They also didn't know that it fell to her mid-back.

She had then spent a good deal of time plucking her eyebrows. This was the step she was most worried about. Not only was it painful, but if she screwed it up, she could have ended up wearing a permanently surprised expression. The thought made her giggle.

She then trimmed and painted her nails. One of the things her mother had taught her was how to do a french manicure. Thank goodness for small favors, she thought laughingly. The makeup had been the final step. Addison had never worn makeup in her life, despite her mother's insistence. Because of this, she only had a vague idea of how to apply it, but she figured she had done it properly seeing as how she didn't look like a complete buffoon. She happily noticed that the eyeliner and mascara brought out her extraordinary eyes.

When her friends saw her, their initial reaction was to gape in shock. They quickly recovered their ability to speak, however. "Who are you and what have you done with Addison?" Dora demanded seriously, although she and Virginia were delighted with her drastic change.

Addison shrugged and grinned. "Do I look alright?" She asked anxiously.

"You look great!" Her two amazed friends exlaimed. Addison heaved a sigh of relief.

"I hope you don't mind that I used your stuff," she said apologetically. They definitely didn't mind. In fact, they had been trying to give her a makeover since they had become close friends, but she had adamently refused. This left them wondering what had changed her mind, and exchanged a look.

"Was it Sirius?" Virginia blurted out suddenly, and Addison looked at her as if she had grown another head.

"What makes you think that?" She asked in confusion. Virginia and Dora exchanged another look.

"It's just that you did this _after_ you met him is all. Seems suspicious to me."

"Suspicious in a good way," Dora chimed in, and they both giggled.

"Whatever," Addison said dismissively. "Get dressed. I'm starving!"

Her friends hastily complied. They couldn't wait to see the reaction of the Hogwarts student body. Addison was quite good looking when she wanted to be.

*

Breakfast on the first morning at Hogwarts was always an interesting affair, especially if it involved the Marauders. At the moment, they were comparing their schedules and coincidentally James, Sirius, and Remus ended up with all advanced classes and Peter was feeling sorry for himself because he wasn't up to par with his brilliant friends. They felt no pity for him.

"Damn. Advanced Transfig with McGonagall. Could life get any worse?" Sirius questioned. James shrugged.

"Yes. It could actually. We have Advanced Potions with Fletcher." There was a collective groan at Remus's comment. Professor Fletcher was not only snappy, mean-spirited, and head of the Slytherin House, but also exceptionally dull. Almost as dull as Professor Binns. Thankfully, they had dropped his class.

"At least we don't have to worry about Binns anymore," James pointed out between a mouthful of toast.

"I heard he died," Peter said quietly.

"WHAT?" Remus, Sirius, and James said simultaneously.

"He died, but he's still teaching. He's a ghost."

"Sounds suspicious," James shrugged.

"That's just what I heard," Peter told them, and focused his attention on his eggs. Sirius laughed at this, and leaned back in his chair. He was just going to cruise this year and not worry about school. He had all of next year to do that. He voiced his opinion to James and Remus, but they weren't listening. Instead, they were staring at the door to the Great Hall. Bewildered, Sirius followed their eyes, and what he saw made him do a double take.

"Who is that?" James asked, blatantly staring.

"Search me," Remus replied. Peter shrugged.

"Do you know, Padfoot? You know every girl in this school," James asked. Sirius nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I think so. I'll be right back." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, and went over to get a closer look at her.

------

A/N: A bit of a cliffy, but I've decided to do shorter chapters and update more often. Hopefully I can get more reviews that way.

Please review! I'll update faster if you do!

Until next time,

~TheSiriusSparrow~ 


	8. Jealousy

Disclaimer: Alright. I confess. I own it. All of it! BWAHAHAHA!!!

Rating: See previous chapters.

Summary: Screw it. It'll give it all away. 

A/N: Yay! Reviews are a wonderful wonderful thing! Keep up the great work mateys! And we continue on to chapter eight...

---------------

The stunned silence that greeted Addison when she stepped into the Great Hall made her very uncomfortable. Actually, uncomfortable was an understatement. She was terrified. For so long she had walked around campus unnoticed, and she had been content with that. Now that people other than her friends knew she existed, she wanted nothing more than to run away.

And she attempted to. Fortunately, Dora and Virginia were there to push her forward again.

"Go on," Dora whispered encouragingly. Addison swallowed nervously, and wondered why the distance to the Ravenclaw table seemed so long. It had always seemed shorter than that.

As she walked quickly by the other long tables of students, she heard their whispers and gossip. Questions such as "Who's that?" and "What got into her?" reached her ears, and she felt the beginnings of a blush tint her cheeks. What was I thinking, she thought in agony. Only a few more steps and I'm there, she comforted herself. Unfortunately, this was not to be so.

"Hey," Sirius Black said silkily. Addison blinked in confusion and felt her face flush even redder. For once she wished he hadn't spoken to her. Where did he come from, she wondered. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her friends slink off to their table. She was going to hex them for leaving her by herself.

"Hi," she replied, and shifted nervously. She was very aware of the fact that the Great Hall was watching them with an uncommon attentiveness. "Um, can we talk later?" She asked softly, and cast a quick glance at the other students.

Sirius smiled wickedly, making Addison even more uneasy. "Sure." He draped his arm over her shoulder, as if they were old friends, and walked her over to her table.

---

The moment Sirius put his arm around her, gossip began to spread like a wildfire. Some of it was good, some bad, most was driven by curiosity.

_"Who is she?"_

"How does she know Sirius Black?"

"They must be an **item**."

"Aww. How sweet."

"What does that little **bitch** think she's doing?" Trissa Hart demanded hotly. She glared as Sirius chatted amicably with Addison and her friends.

"She seems to be friends with him," Trissa's best friend Georgia remarked. Trissa turned her glare to her friend.

"I know that, Georgia. But everyone knows that Sirius is mine." Trissa felt her self-control slowly slipping.

"That's not exactly true," Georgia reminded her. "He's almost yours."

"Damn right. And now she's going to bloody ruin all of my hard work. I can assure you, Georgia, that she won't get away with it," Trissa stated, and grinned maliciously at the Ravenclaw table.

Georgia twirled an auburn curl nervously. Trissa was one of the more popular girls in the school, and she was accustomed to getting what she wanted when she wanted it. Sirius had been a different case. He seemed oblivious to her constant flirting, and when he had finally started to take notice at the end of last term, he was once again ignoring her again. At the moment, Georgia felt very sorry for the object of Sirius's attention. Trissa wasn't the type to let things pass her by.

"Are you sure that he's really interested in her?" Georgia asked, hoping that there might be a way out of Trissa's plot for revenge.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Trissa flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. "We'll just ask him ourselves when he sits down." Like Sirius, Trissa and Georgia were both sixth year Gryffindors. "What is that girl's name, anyway?"

Georgia shrugged. "I don't know. I've never seen her before."

---

Sirius shook his head in regret. After he had waved good-bye to Addison and was heading back to the Gryffindor table, he realized the mistake he had made. At the time, he thought it funny to put his arm around her. He had known that it would start gossip. However, he hadn't taken the time to consider what the gossips might say and how they would react. This thought was prompted by the venomous look sent his way by Trissa Hart.

Sirius knew that she fancied him, as did many girls in the school. But honestly, Sirius wasn't that interested. A few months back before the beginning of summer he had acted like he held an interest in her just to humor her. Now, he could care less, but he had a feeling Trissa wasn't going to take to kindly to this sudden abandonment.

Sirius sat down heavily in his seat and grinned goofily at his friends. They, however, were not grinning back. Instead, they were gaping at him. "What?" he asked, looking at each one of them in turn. 

He didn't hear their response, because Trissa and Georgia saw this as their opportunity to drag him away. In spite of his resistance, he still found himself at the empty end of the table. "Hey Trissa," Sirius greeted her pleasantly, meeting her cool gaze steadily.

"Hello Sirius. Georgia and I just wanted to say hello and catch up with you. It's been **ages** since I last spoke with you."

Sirius nodded. "It has. But if you'd excuse-"

Georgia interrupted him. "How was your summer?"

"Great," Sirius said quickly.

"Meet anyone new?" Trissa leaned forward and batted her eyelashes.

Sirius was growing annoyed. "Maybe." It was a clipped response, but Trissa didn't seem to be getting the hint.

"Really?" Georgia asked, wide-eyed. Sirius shrugged.

"Who is it?" Trissa asked sweetly, honey lacing her words. Her eyes did not match her tone however. She was glaring icily at him.

"No one you would know," Sirius replied off-handedly. He cast a helpless look at his friends. James waved cheerily at him.

"Oh, I might. Why don't you try me?" Trissa was persistent.

"You don't know her, ok?" Sirius snapped. He was about to lose his temper, and was afraid he might do something he would regret later.

"Fine then." Trissa looked dismayed, and was about to leave when Georgia barged in once again.

"Who was that girl you were talking to?" Georgia asked in genuine curiosity. She wanted to know the name of the poor girl who's life would soon be a living hell in a matter of hours.

"Addison," Sirius replied. "I have to finish my breakfast. Excuse me." He quickly vacated his seat and joined his friends, who were finishing their breakfasts. He could feel Trissa glaring daggers at his back.

"What was that all about?" James whispered so that Trissa and Georgia couldn't hear.

"Long story," Sirius shrugged and began to butter a piece of toast.

"We have-" Remus glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes. That's plenty of time."

Reluctantly, Sirius began to recount his conversation.

---------------

**Review???**

TheSiriusSparrow 


	9. Many Meetings and Devious Plans

Disclaimer: Last I checked, it was the same as before.

A/N: Well, here I am again. I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. Just wanted to say thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers! You all get huge cyberhugs! Lol. And now I'm gonna shut up and let y'all read this next chapter. Ta!

---------------

Addison heard the furious whispering of two girls as she walked briskly through the hall on her way to her first class- Advanced Transfiguration. Raising an eyebrow, she wondered briefly what they were discussing before rounding the corner.

And what she saw made her want to run in the other direction. But that would have been ridiculous, so instead she decided to push past them as if they weren't even there.

Trissa and Georgia ceased their plotting as soon as they heard someone round the corner. Looking up and smiling innocently, Trissa prepared to wave a friendly greeting and hoped that whoever it was would continue along their merry way. However, her cool composure was blown the minute the last person in the world she wanted to see at the moment turned the corner. Instead of being composed she found herself staring. With her mouth open.

She felt an elbow dig into her side and quickly clamped her mouth shut. She shot Georgia a thankful look and turned back to Addison who was trying to edge inconspicuously by the two devious girls.

"Addison! Hey!" Georgia greeted with false gusto. Fortunately Georgia had kept her wits about her.

Addison nodded a quick hello and tried to push past them. By this time Trissa was functioning properly. "Where are you going?" She asked, smiling warmly.

"Class?" Addison offered. How do they know me, she wondered. As far as she knew, she had never had a conversation with them in her life. Come to think of it, I've never even spoken to them, Addison remembered.

"So are we!" Trissa exclaimed. "Why don't you walk with us?" She offered. Before Addison could respond she had already grabbed her elbow and was leading her down the hall.

Reluctantly, Addison fell into step with the other two girls. This was exactly what she had been worrying about: unwanted notice from a group of people she had been trying to avoid for the past six years. She should have known that her new look along with Sirius's attentions would bring this. She made a mental note to go back to her original habits.

"What do you have now?" Georgia asked and walked on her other side.

"Um. Advanced Transfiguration. With Professor McGonagall."

"Is that so?" Trissa asked thoughtlessly. She was only half-listening to the conversation. Already she had a plan in mind.

---

Sirius did a double-take when he saw Addison walking down the hall with Trissa and Georgia. What was she thinking?

And immediately the answer came to him, and he glared at them. Obviously Trissa had something planned. That bitch! He thought outraged.

James whistled when the three girls came by. Georgia blushed prettily and Trissa continued on without a backward glance. Addison put her head down and tried to remain unnoticed.

"Uh-oh Padfoot. It seems the Queen Bitch is upset with you," James laughed and leaned back against the stone wall.

"No shit," Sirius responded. Remus glanced at his watch.

"We have ten minutes," he informed them carelessly. "I think Georgia fancies you," he added, nodding at James.

"Who could resist me?" He asked, and puffed out his chest. "I am James Potter, Quidditch captain and prefect extraordinaire!" He pranced around.

"Whoa, stud," Sirius teased. Remus and Peter sniggered. James made a whinnying noise, and took off down the hall in a mock-gallop. Remus rolled his eyes, and he and Peter followed.

Something definitely has to be done, Sirius thought, and fast. After a moment of contemplative silence, he set off down the hall after his friends. He too had a plan.

---

Addison all but sprinted to the library. She barreled through the doors, almost running over the librarian, who shot her a dirty look. Addison didn't even notice and brushed by her without a backwards glance.

Trissa and Georgia had been following her all day, asking her questions but never waiting for the answer and chattering mindlessly over boys and clothes. It was driving Addison nuts, and she desperately needed to escape. So after her last class, she bolted out of her chair as soon as they were dismissed and sprinted to the last place Trissa Hart and Georgia Nalley would go-the library.

As she slowly got her breath back from running, she walked up and down the rows of old books. The musty smell of old print and parchment filled her nose, and she managed to calm herself a bit. The library was her haven and always a place of refuge. And I definitely need a refuge, Addison thought bitterly. Now she had a chance to think. Addison analyzed everything because she believed every problem had an answer, and this one was not any more difficult than some of the other problems she had solved throughout her life.

She sat down at one of the round tables and buried her head in her hands. By all outward appearances she appeared to be crying. Instead she was trying to focus.

_Ok. So here I am in my sixth year and I'm suddenly being noticed by everyone. I was never noticed before. Why is this any different?_ She was feeling frustrated with herself. _Well, I did drastically alter my physical appearance, but still..._ And then realization struck her. _Sirius Black._

---

When Remus Lupin walked into the library, he didn't expect himself to end up comforting a girl. A crying girl no less. But here he was trying to figure out a way to best approach her without getting his head snapped off. From his experience that was what happened when you approach an emotional female, and it was definitely not fun.

Clearing his throat, he sat down in the chair opposite her and placed his books on the table. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked gently.

The girl jerked her head up in surprise, and Remus stared at her. This was the girl that Sirius was friends with, and she was definitely not crying. She blinked in confusion before asking politely, "Can I help you?"

Remus felt his cheeks grow hot. She didn't appear to need any sort of comfort, and now he was embarrassing himself. "You seemed upset," he replied awkwardly.

She smiled politely. "No. I'm fine. Thanks though." Giving him another curious look, she reached into her bag and pulled out her Potions homework. Remus did likewise. "Are you friends with Sirius?" She asked, although she knew the answer already.

"Yeah. Remus Lupin." Remus stuck out his hand.

She shook it. "Addison Freeborn."

---

_Well, this adds to the confusion. Now Sirius Black's best friend is talking to me as if we're old friends._ Addison was still analyzing the whole situation and was only half-listening to what Remus was saying to her. She was mildly surprised at how talkative he was. He'd always struck her as being the shy type. _Shows how much I know._ Addison felt miserable.

Together they finished the Potions essay in record time. "You should've been in Ravenclaw," Addison remarked, clearly pleased to have worked with someone who knew what he was doing and applied himself.

Remus made a face. "No thanks. Gryffindor suits me just fine." He shoved his books in his bag and stood to go. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go now," he said politely.

Addison smiled. "Me too. It was nice meeting you."

"Same."

Addison watched him leave and decided that only one word could describe this situation. _Strange._

---

Remus walked out of the library in a slight daze. He had just spent an hour having a conversation with a Ravenclaw he had never met before in his life and already he felt as if they were old friends. To be honest, he didn't think she was Sirius's type. She was pretty enough and certainly smart, but she was -way- too down to earth.

Maybe that's a good thing, he thought, maybe Sirius needs a bit of grounding. If his friend didn't seem so interested in her, Remus himself would definitely consider asking her out.

"I need to introduce her to James," Remus muttered. It was time for Moony to play matchmaker.

------------------

A/N: What do you think? Too OOC? Please review and tell me what your opinion is. Also, there should be a semblance of a plot forming pretty soon. (guilty look) I've been a bit slack. That's all. Ta luvs! And thanks for all of your lovely reviews!

**TheSiriusSparrow**


	10. Two Matchmakers?

"Remus, you're out of your mind!" James exclaimed, regarding Remus with a look of sheer disbelief. "I've seen that girl before, and there is no way Padfoot would be interested in her in that sense."

"I know she's not exactly a perfect ten on the Sirius Black scale-"

"Don't you mean that she's not on the Sirius Black scale at all?" James snorted. Remus shot him a glare and James fell silent.

"Looks aren't everything James. And besides, she's not completely unfortunate looking. Didn't you see her today?" James nodded. "I'm mainly interested in the fact that she has some level of sophistication, and dare I say, a mind. From my experience she seems to be what Sirius has needed since day one."

As everyone in Hogwarts knew, Sirius had had numerous girlfriends, each one more drop-dead gorgeous than the last. They matched his good looks, but not his intelligence or personality. Underneath the pranks and devil-may-care attitude, Sirius was actually quite brilliant. However, only his closest friends had the privilege of knowing that fact. Most everybody else in the school believed Sirius to be a mindless, material pretty boy.

There was a moment of silence in which Remus gave James his most pleading look. He had a feeling that if the two of them managed to hook Addison and Sirius up, there was a very good chance that Sirius would get his act together.

"All right, Moony. But she still seems like a bit of a freak to me," James said dubiously.

Remus grinned. "Wait until you meet her."

---

Addison groaned inwardly. Coming right in her direction, were Trissa and Georgia. Wanting very much to sprint in the opposite direction and get as far away as possible, she reluctantly returned their wave.

"Addison! We've been looking everywhere for you! Where have you been?" Trissa greeted emptily. She was severely comparing Addison's features to her own and was still unable to figure out what Sirius saw in her. Trissa considered her self to be twice as pretty as Addison.

Addison shrugged awkwardly. "I was finishing my homework."

"For two hours?" Georgia asked skeptically. She wondered who in their right mind would spend two hours in one night on homework that was due a week from now.

"I wanted to get all of it done," Addison said simply, wishing very much that they would continue down the hallway and never speak to her again.

"Oh." Trissa changed the subject with a wave of her hand. "Well, the main reason Georgia and I were trying to find you is because we wanted to invite you to Hogsmeade with us." She gave Addison an expectant look.

"But that's not for another month," Addison pointed out, not entirely trusting the situation.

_Exactly,_ Trissa thought maliciously. "We like to plan things in advance," she replied and gave Addison a challenging look.

"I don't know. I guess so," she said, and began to inch her way past them.

"You think about it then," Trissa said, the sugary sweetness in her voice reaching a climax, before turning and sauntering off down the hallway, Georgia in tow.

"Think it will work?" Georgia said quietly once she believed they were out of ear shot.

"There is no way she could be with Sirius Black if she's with us, now is there?" Trissa said and smiled cruelly. "I'll make it so she'll never see him again."

---

Finding herself accompanied by two 6th year guys, Addison couldn't help but believe that this had been the weirdest week of her life. Remus Lupin and James Potter had cornered after breakfast that Saturday and demanded that she hang out with them. Naturally, warning sirens were going off in her head, and she knew something suspicious was going on.

"So, tell us about yourself," James said, the three of them lounging under a tree by the lake.

Addison raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you want to know?"

James fixed his hazel eyes on her. "Everything," he said cryptically and snorted at the slightly started look on Addison's face.

"Ignore him, Addison. He's like this all the time," Remus said reassuringly and glared at James.

"Ok then..." Taking a deep breath Addison started talking, timidly at first, but more confidently after a few seconds. Through it all, she vaguely wondered where Sirius was.

---

It had only taken the first few minutes with Addison to realize that despite her quiet exterior, she radiated a quiet power. To James, she seemed like the type who kept who she really was under wraps, believing everyone else to be inferior. And he was beginning to think that perhaps she was right. In fact, once he and Remus had really gotten her going, she proved to be a very engaging person to talk to.

"So, what do you think?" Remus asked his friend later when they were back in their dormitory.

"Well, I have to admit she isn't as bad looking as I thought she was," James said innocently. Remus swatted him in the arm.

"That wasn't what I was talking about, but I'm glad you feel that way," Remus said scoldingly.

James laughed and leaned back on his pillow. "So, where do we begin?"

------------------

A/N: Ok. It's short and I apologize but it seems to me like I've furthered the plot some. I also want to apologize for not updating sooner. I took a break over the summer, and then suddenly remembered this story. So please forgive me for lack of updating.

Also, feel free to check out my other stories. There are three in the Pirates of the Caribbean genre and one in the Secret Window genre. Feel free to drop a review for one of them as well as review for this fic.

As a hint, the more reviews I get, the faster I update.

_Review Responses-_

**wanna-be an elf writer, Plumkin, I the anonymous, gemini, xParanoidAndroidx, LonelyWhiteAnimagiWolf-** Thank you so much for reviewing! Please continue to read and I hope you liked this chapter!

**katesparrow**- Plot is still unknown but I think I'm mainly going to focus on a romance until a random idea comes to me. There's no way in hell this story will ever be as good as your HP story. ::laughs::

**fiery-eyed-elf**- Hey! I'm glad you like Remus. I like him too. Lol. Anyway, I know it's been a while since you reviewed and I'm sorry that I haven't read any of your work in a while, but as I said before I've been taking a brief fanfiction hiatus. Hope you like this chapter!

**Harold's Purple Crayon**- Thanks for reviewing! I didn't actually discontinue Curse of the Tourist Trap. It was, in fact, deleted from when I was in the process of writing the 15th chapter. I was quite devastated. Lol.  
  
That's all for now. Ta maties! Review please!

**TheSiriusSparrow** aka Alex 


End file.
